European Union leaders were today trying to find common ground over the threat of a US-led war against Saddam Hussein.

European Union leaders were today trying to find common ground over the threat of a US-led war against Saddam Hussein.

The emergency summit in Brussels was called amid stark warnings from Washington that a confrontation with the Iraqi dictator was inevitable.

"We do not want dividing lines between the EU countries," said Prime Minister Costas Simitis of Greece, which currently heads the EU.

"We all want peace and we all want to try and find a more practical way of promoting peace."

Downing Street said Prime Minister Tony Blair hoped today's meeting would show that the EU was "united in its determination to put pressure on Saddam Hussein to disarm".

But after a weekend of protest marches which saw millions of anti-war demonstrators join protests around the globe - up to a million in London alone -there was little sign of softening attitudes.

The divisions were reflected across town at Nato headquarters, where Belgium, France and Germany had held out for a month against 14 European allies - as well as the US and Canada - over starting defensive measures to protect Turkey in the case of a war against Iraq.

Germany and Belgium dropped their objections to a deal late yesterday, but the only way Nato got the deal was by going to its Defence Planning Committee, which Paris withdrew from in 1966, to negotiate an end to the Nato deadlock. Paris only takes part in political consultations.

Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt called the Nato agreement "a good start" for the EU discussions.

Still, after the deal was reached, France, Germany and Belgium issued a statement balancing their commitment to honour their defence obligations with their desire to disarm Iraq peacefully.

The three countries will "continue to defend the view that we must have a peaceful solution through the United Nations. That would be a good thing for the EU," Verhofstadt said.

France and Germany have led an anti-war drive in Europe, insisting there is no case for military action yet against Saddam Hussein. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has gone further, ruling out participation in any military action, even if it gets UN backing.

The summit is seen as a crucial test of the EU's drive to forge a united front on foreign policy and security issues. Failure to work out a common stand on Iraq could exacerbate divisions over the EU's future, especially the drive by France and Germany to create a power capable of balancing the US on the world stage.

The 15-member EU, which expands to 25 in 2004, has struggled to forge a common foreign policy to match its economic clout as the world's largest trading bloc.

French Foreign Minister Dominique De Villepin urged the continent to reach a common position on Iraq because, in a reference to the US, "one single power cannot ensure the security of the world," he said.

"We must work together so that Europe is capable of affirming its principles and identity," he said.

The anti-war camp got a boost from protests around the world on Saturday and yesterday that saw millions of people marching against war.

Still, many EU members are reluctant to surrender their foreign policy and are determined to retain strong ties with the US, which they see as essential to their security.

Several eastern European states preparing to join the EU were excluded from joining today's meeting because of their strong pro-US stance.

In Washington, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said a confrontation with Saddam was inevitable.

"Sooner or later, we believe sooner, the Security Council is going to have to say that he has not taken that final opportunity to comply, and the Security Council is going to have to act, or the United States will have to act with a coalition of the willing," Rice said.

Mr Blair has acknowledged that his tough stance on Iraq has made him unpopular, but has refused to be deterred.

"I do not seek unpopularity as a badge of honour. But sometimes it is the price of leadership and the cost of conviction," he said.

He argued there was a "moral case" for war and said it would be "an act of humanity" to depose Saddam.